Botswana clinches Vaccine Deal with Moderna

  • Govt has said it has secured enough deals to vaccinate the entire eligible population

RORISANG MOGOJWE
Moderna has entered a supply agreement with the Government of Botswana for supply of COVID-19 vaccines, The Botswana Gazette has established.

The American pharmaceutical company announced on 3 June 2021 that it would support the government’s ongoing efforts to secure access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The supply deal is believed to be one of the first that Moderna has clinched with an African country as most of its distribution has been for the US market.

“We appreciate the collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Botswana for this supply agreement and with the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority for this EUA,” Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement.

“We are committed to ensuring that people on every continent have access to our mRNA vaccine so that we can defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The company also announced that the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BOMRA) has issued an emergency use authorisation for the COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna.

The company did not provide details of the number of doses. However, the Covid-19 Task Force has previously said government had struck supply deals for enough vaccines to inoculate the entire eligible population.

Moderna’s vaccine is highly rated in the world, with a reported 94% ability to prevent symptomatic COVID after the second dose. This means the deal is a good purchase by the
government.

The latest agreement is separate from the 500 million vaccine doses which Moderna has agreed to supply to the GAVI-led COVAX vaccine sharing scheme, the company said.